Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Last year in my divorce settlement my ex wife was awarded a leased car, and our home. the car is completely under my name, and on the house i'm the principal buyer.
in the divorce decree it stated that she would take over these debt and indemnify and render my harmless. well since that time she has totally sabotaged my credit! ive asked her to refinance the house but she refuses.
what is meant by rendering me harmless? do i have any options to get out of this mess. i'm about to have to repo the car because i can't afford to pay her bills as well as mine. she's totally unco-operative. i just want to know if there's any course of action i can take to hold her responsible and help myself!
1 Answer from Attorneys
You won't get much mileage out of the "hold harmless" clause. Here's what it means:
If a debt is "assigned" to you in the divorce, you have to pay it. If the creditor is able to squeeze payment out of your ex, she can then sue you (a regular civil lawsuit - NOT a contempt action) and get a judgment against you for the amount that was squeezed out of her. She can then attempt to collect the judgment.
Unfortunately, debts can't be cleanly "divided" by a divorce judge because they involve contracts with third parties (the creditors) who aren't under the jurisdiction of the court.
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